House Of Hemp Responds To Cannabis License Controversy

The cannabis license controversy and recent claims of racism surrounding House of Hemp have encouraged a response from their founder Dr Thandeka Kunene.

Before reading Dr Kunene’s response I ask that you please consider our previous articles for my views in this regard and that I have consistently supported a policy of legalization for all, particularly for the previously and currently disadvantaged who responsibly rely on cannabis as a source of income, medicine, hemp, tradition or recreation…. or all of these should they so choose. I would therefore prefer to let my activism and work speak for itself instead of banging my own drum or being dragged into this controversy.

Dr Kunene’s response

Greetings Mr Wallace. Why you have never ever reached out to ask me any of your questions or verifications before you wrote any of your articles about me or my company house of hemp?

Why do you publish information from dubious sources without verification? Just where do you get your information about me or house of hemp when you have never interacted with me nor any of the 49 shareholders of House of Hemp?

I would appreciate to know why you conclude that “one thing for sure house of hemp will struggle to find local support?” Is that your personal wishes or what white cannabis industry has said to you? What % of the white cannabis said that to you? Who said it? Im sure if you can drag my good name in the mud you can name your sources proudly?

Know Im not fighting you nor am I angry with your lot but I am interested in having a glimpse of the mind of one of my haters.

Further Im not fighting you cos your ill-advised conclusion actually helped house of hemp secure a replacement investor within 21days of being dumped by LGC and its local alleged “Presidents Keepers”.

I bet you 100cents that was not your intention to help House of Hemp secure replacement investor, was it?

How do you feel about this unintended consequences of your article? Does it make u hate me more? Does it make your fellow haters hate you for unintentionally helping me?

In fact please tell me why do you and those who hate me; hate me so? Name one thing I have done to you or against any of your haters group for you lot to hate me so?

What I find interesting is that 97% of the haters I have identified so far are of the white race. And 97% of those who hate me have never met me and have had no interaction with me.

Thus I believe you lot hate me for no reason. Except from the fact that I managed to get house of hemp into the government hemp project in 1999 and I managed to get a cannabis research permit in 2009.

But why is that any valid reason to hate me or house of hemp? Dont you know or hasnt your research told you that both in 1999 and in 2009 we got what we got by pure merit?

Why do you think I should explain myself to you and your group of haters? Who do you Mr Wallace account to about any of your activities in cannabis? Is it some collonial mindset that demands blacks to must answer to whites? Why? Is it a God given right?

Is it painful to know there are blacks like me and many Rastafari idren who dont subscribe to such a mindset?

Tell me did you speak to Mr. Bobby Greenhash before you accused him of being the one responsible for LGC dumping House of Hemp?

Know why I dismissed it as untrue? cos even if he tried Bobby does not have the power to have made LGC dump me or stay with me.

I think your accusation of Bobby is caused by the similar fear of the unknown that makes many haters credit me with super powers that I just dont have. Im just an ordinary Zulu girl born in the dusty streets of Meadowlands Soweto whose environment forced many of us to turn to cannabis in order to cope with those dreadful circumstances we found ourselves in due to white greed.

My turning to cannabis at the age of 13 is what got me where I am. No super powers. Just hard work and lots of pushing. Normally not allone. There is 49 of us. Bootstrapping. Working hard. Spending all our black cents to try use cannabis to change our poverty conditions to a better life.

Most important question to you from me is: why do you and the haters get very angry when I assert that in the black majority South Africa the majority of benefits must go to blacks? Why does your lot consider that to be a racist statement? What would be a fairer statement?

Truly Im baffled Why are many whites so insecure? Why do these whites want more than their share of the opportunity? If they take more than their share who must lose out? And these are cannabis users? My experience with cannabis is it does not allow me to steal or lie or hate or to kill. Why are they plotting to steal what is not theirs? Why do they hate me without cause?

In fact why are not more whites calling for the transformation of the cannabis supply value chain which is currently owned and run by mainly Historically Advantaged white men. Why are they not wanting to share the cannabis benefits with their black labourers? Why blacks in cannabis remain poor when South Africa supplies 27% of world cannabis? Where is this wealth going to? What colour are the hands that hold the current cannabis wealth of the South?

Cannabis is an existing industry. Who currently owns the lions share of the Cannabis industry of South Africa? Why are you not writing about that? Why are the current cannabis activists not raising such a crucial imbalance?

It seems very much Like in the Emperor wears no clothes where everyone sees this gap but no one says anything.

Well Im not blind. I am not deaf. And I have a mouth. So I will speak against this as long as I still see it.

Mr Wallace I rather you engage me and you will discover that in fact I dont hate whites. That I dont have any special super powers. That I dont have any influence. That I dont have any corrupts political networks.

That contrary to the haters belief I am a true Rastafari daughter. And that all I have achieved has been on pure merit. through pure sweat and blood. And that all I invested has been my own cents that I worked hard to earn by sweat and blood.

Also if asked with respect I can list all I have done in cannabis since age 13. I am 47 and I never stopped. No I have worked 17 hours 6 days a week for 27 years to free cannabis for my peoples benefit.

Just because I am not seen in your white cannabis networks does not mean I dont work relentlessly.

I challenge you to find one black or one white cannabis activist that I have worked with who will not work with me again? That should tell you something you dont know about me.

It is so sad that even in the so called dawn of democracy… White south African men are still hellbent in remaining in power over all sectors…leave your apartheid mentality and realise that other races can do better than you all…it’s not about competition but acknowledging other people’s contribution

The moment race becomes part and parcel of the framework I start vomitting in my mouth! Is that all they can do – ‘play the victim’? I don’t know this women from anything I have ever been part of in the cannabis establishment, but merely reading her gutter logic makes me want to give her some disprins to smoke! If you don’t hate as you claim, why then does your whole letter stink from it? I applaud her for putting in so much time since the age of 13 to achieve something she believes in, but shooting yourself in the foot at age 47 does not make good bussiness sense at all. ‘White greed’ – Excuse me madam 420, but from where I sit I see ‘white competence’ against ‘black greed’. That little black thing in your hand, is a mirror, just turn it around to see the real enemy!

Dr Kunene will be remembered for selling out the cause of freeing the herb for all. Her collaboration and sucking up to government and the MCC kinda confirms her and House of Hemps loyalty to the establishment, masquerading as a pitiful previously disadvantaged oppressed ‘rastafari’ soul while enriching herself off the same greedy monopolistic established.

One useful principle: a person pointing out whote privilege and racist structures; and the blithe, ongoing exploitation of those structures be it via actual business practices, or merely wording (as per Wallace’ statements in preceding article) – IS NOT RACIST.
That black people have to work 10 X harder to get the same return as whites – who start out waaay ahead in terms of access to capital, everything – is common cause.
Dismissing Kunenes response as “racist” – you do yourself and your kids no favours. She asks valid questions: why is the business dominated AGAIN by a minority? And why should it stay so? The fact that she engages with govt is not “sucking up” (childish, playground language by the way) – but maybe it IS networking in a way that you are incapable of conceiving. Up your game instead of maligning her. You critics above don’t come across as anything “better” than what *you accuse her of.
Pause, reflect, learn – rather.

Your post wasn’t censored. All posts are submitted to us for approval first.
Due to the large amount of people trying to sell their products in the comments section of our articles we check them before allowing them to go public.

Everybody has a story and no two stories are the same. People wil always get restless around what’s different, unease,anxious… I think Dr Kunene’s story is a bit unusual to some of ‘us’ hence the big fuss. Dr Kunene has done well together with her partners. And as an aspiring businessman in the culture, I’m excited to see what house of hemp has in store..